


Orbit

by ancient_moonshine



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, 琅琊榜 | Nirvana in Fire (TV)
Genre: Dowager Princess Jingmum, Fluff, Handmaiden Zhanying, Like, M/M, Prince of Naboo XJY, SO MUCH FLUFF, Sith Lord MCS, Star Wars AU, massive liberties with the Star Wars franchise taken
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-02
Updated: 2017-08-02
Packaged: 2018-12-10 07:22:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11686803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ancient_moonshine/pseuds/ancient_moonshine
Summary: In which Prince Jingyan Amidala of Naboo plays hooky for an afternoon to be with his Sith lord boyfriend.





	Orbit

The life of the Prince of Naboo is a hectic one, with little opportunity for leisure or free time, which is why Jingyan had learned early on to seize one when he can. Tonight, the only event of note in his schedule is a meeting with several ministers of whose concerns he was already familiar with and which he could easily entrust to the Princess Dowager.  And so for this afternoon he removes the headdress, slips off the heavy robes of state and wipes his face clean of the thick layer of ceremonial makeup, dressing himself in the simple hooded tunic and trousers of his bodyservants.

Zhanying bows to him on his way out – clumsily, encumbered by elaborate robes, his face rendered indistinguishable from Jingyan’s by the white and red make-up, and the Princess Dowager smiles at him before turning back to Zhanying, the both of them rehearsing what to say. Zhanying has stood in Jingyan’s place for many similar meetings, and Jingyan trusts well enough in his experience and knowledge of how Jingyan’s mind works – whatever rough spots would be smoothed over by PrincessJingyi’s presence, so it’s with little hesitation that Jingyan slips out of the palace. His head bowed, unrecognizable from any common attendant, free to make his way to the pavilion tucked into the quietest corner of the gardens.

The breeze carries the delicate notes of a _qin_ towards him, and Jingyan smiles. Lord Mei is sitting outside the pavilion under the spreading branches of a _nan_ tree, an elegant and somber figure in black. His eyes closed, expression serene as his cybernetic fingers move dexterously over the strings. Jingyan takes care to remain quiet, so as to not disturb him, and it’s only when the last note hangs quivering in the air that he steps forward.

Lord Mei’s eyes open, the molten red-gold of a dying star. He smiles when he sees Jingyan – a real smile, warm and tender, not the cold inscrutable curve of his lips he usually wore – and Jingyan smiles back, suddenly boyishly self-conscious and shy.

Lord Mei always had that effect on him. Jingyan would be more annoyed if he didn’t know Lord Mei felt the same about him.

“Prince Jing.” Lord Mei rises, bows deeply in greeting. Jingyan stops him with a hand on his shoulder, another at his elbow.

“You know there’s no need for such formalities between us.” Lord Mei glances at his hand. Jingyan’s thumb is  brushing close against the edge of his collar, just a hair’s breadth away from bare skin. Lord Mei gently touches the back of it, tracing the veins.

“You’re here early.”  Lord Mei says. Jingyan shifts closer, presses his lips against his.

“I missed you.” Jingyan says simply, his breath fanning soft against Lord Mei’s cold skin. Lord Mei’s eyes slip shut, and he leans forward, kissing him again, sweet and deep. The pull away when they need to breathe, Lord Mei opening his eyes and smiling, taking Jingyan by the hand and leading him to the pavilion.

How they got here - from a desperate young prince determined to save his planet and a Sith lord sunk so deep into the dark side that he could no longer use the Force without his body turning on itself– Jingyan was never quite certain. After a while what they were had simply ceased to matter, the both of them fighting on the same side of the war, casting off the stranglehold of the Empire. Lord Mei and his Outer Rim Alliance coming to the Rebellion’s aid time and again, and Jingyan’s animosity and contempt had turned to understanding, and then an odd friendship, the more time he and Lord Mei spent together, the more they planned, and lost, and finally won, battle after battle.

But Jingyan never had any idea of how much Lord Mei had come to matter to him until that terrible final battle, when Lord Mei collapsed like a snapped string at the same time the Empire’s fleet was consumed in one fiery conflagration after another. Victory turning to ashes as Jingyan held Lord Mei’s limp weight in his arms, reminding him horribly of another time and another boy, who died without Jingyan ever telling him how he felt. 

That had been almost half a year ago. Lord Mei had spent the entire time recuperating, and Jingyan notes with satisfaction that he’s mostly recovered his strength – judging by the enthusiastic hunger of his kisses and the way his clever fingers untie Jingyan’s tunic, then his own robes. Jingyan’s hands finding his waist and Lord Mei sighs against him as he languorously strokes his sides. Caressing the patchwork scarred flesh, his limbs giving way to cybernetic replacements above the joints. _They never feel warm anymore._ Lord Mei whispered wistfully the first time they had lain together, but that doesn’t stop Jingyan from trying as he kisses Lord Mei’s palm, then his wrist, all the way up his forearm to the seam where flesh melded with metal. Doing the same with his other arm, and then his legs, working him open with his fingers until Lord Mei is a writhing, shaking mess beneath him. Only then does Jingyan take him, entering him slowly and filling him up completely, fucking him slow and careful until all Lord Mei knows is this pleasure, this tenderness, this trust.

Jingyan catches the second Lord Mei’s eyes fly open as he gasps, and at the same moment he comes. Lord Mei’s legs wrapped around his waist, digging into his flesh hard enough to bruise, keeping him inside of him. Jingyan kisses him once, twice. Those strange eyes falling shut under Jingyan’s lips. Lord Mei relaxing and going limp as he falls asleep in Jingyan’s arms.

He sleeps for almost an hour after their coupling, and Jingyan cleans them both up before curling up around him in the bed. Watching his lover sleep, tracing the light scars on his face. Lord Mei wakes up just before nightfall, kissing Jingyan out of the light doze he’d fallen into before pulling him up. The both of them dressing each other, and there’s a meal laid out for them, though Jingyan never heard anyone come in – which is worrying on a security level but Lord Mei doesn’t seem bothered, so Jingyan lets it go.

Lord Mei opens the door and the large windows, letting the sweet night wind billow throughout the wide, airy expanse of the pavilion. Just this shy of cool, and Jingyan fixes a cloak over Lord Mei’s shoulders before taking the seat opposite him. They eat their meal while watching the sky fade from deep orange and pink to indigo. It’s a beautiful sight, but the peace on Lord Mei’s features is even lovelier.

“You love the sky,” Jingyan says. It's not a new observation, but the first time he says it out loud. Lord Mei smiles at him, pours him a cup of hot water – without touching the pot – and levitates the cup to him.

“I feel closer to the living Force whenever I see it above me. After so long immersed in the Dark, it is like a balm.” He sighs. “I wish I could sleep under the stars again, but my health will not allow it.” He falls silent, and Jingyan remembers a memory: a young Jedi knight, laughing and twirling his lightsaber. Throwing himself down on a patch of grass under the sky, waking up during chilly mornings covered in dew and grinning at Jingyan when he complained. For the first time, he smiles at the memory without pain. Then he gets an idea.  

 “Let’s go somewhere.” Jingyan says impulsively. Lord Mei pauses, his cup of tea halfway up to his lips. 

“Where?” He asks, slowly. Likely assessing the possible security risks, and how to avert them. But he’s not objecting. Jingyan feels a grin spread slow over his face.

The clearing Jingyan takes Lord Mei to remains unchanged from the last time he’d been here, over five years ago. Long whitish-green grasses cover the hillside, and the season’s last starflowers reach up to the pearl-scattered sky with their white petals. Xiao Shu always loved this spot. He’d told Jingyan that the Force felt stronger here than anywhere else he’d ever felt, and though Jingyan was about as Force-sensitive as a slab of durasteel, the peace he found here was never like anything he experienced anywhere else. Lord Mei sucks in a breath when he sees it, eyes wide with wonder, and Jingyan helps him down from his speeder.

Lord Mei walks a few steps, then falls to his knees on the soft grass, hands spread out in front of him, buried in the still sun-warmed earth. He closes his eyes, opens them again when Jingyan kneels beside him.

“This place is important to you.” Lord Mei says softly. “Why did you bring me here?” Jingyan smiles, strokes the side of his face.

“Someone I cared for very deeply loved this place.” He explains quietly. “I was hoping you would, too, and that it could help you.” Silence. Lord Mei gently takes his hand.

“Thank you.” He says. It’s for something more than sharing this with him, but Jingyan can’t pinpoint  exactly what, it is.

“I love you.” Jingyan says. He always makes sure to say it at least once, when they're together. Lord Mei smiles.

“I know.” He says. His eyes are luminous, shining like stars.

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be for the NIF Drabble Challenge. 
> 
> It did not end up a drabble. 
> 
> Only very loosely related to the original prompt, too. OTL. 
> 
> Well. Have at the fluff, anyway. 8D Basically I wanted to try a different tack and write Jingyan loving MCS whole-heartedly without Lin SHu's ghost hanging between them.


End file.
